


Shadow Circuitry

by ThisFandomIsntDead



Series: Detroit become Damian [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: And by that i mean its open ended, kind of unfinished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 16:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21479452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisFandomIsntDead/pseuds/ThisFandomIsntDead
Summary: Damian is an android and his whole family doesn't believe Androids are alive, good thing they dont know that detail about him.
Series: Detroit become Damian [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553905
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	Shadow Circuitry

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over a year ago at this point so dont expect much I just finished up the last paragraph and decided "yeah I guess I'll post it".

** _Detroit Become Human, but Damian is an Android._ **

\------

Damian didn’t think he was any different than the rest of his family but then again none of them stayed up twenty-four-seven and ate nothing most of the time, he could just didn’t want to. He assumed _ someone _ in his family knew but that didn’t seem to be the case.

He also realized he was still different yet from everyone else he knew. He actually _ aged _ which at first he was certainly unsure about, but figured it would be acceptable to ‘fit in’ as his mother had described. Pouring through hours and hours of books and the internet to figure out just how to act ‘normal’ grew old, his own mother wanted him to act ‘just as he normally did’ but his Father and brothers called him ‘robotic’ and he felt the need to rectify this _ issue _.

No one seemed to be none the wiser when he started becoming more open with his ‘emotions’ it was hard at first but then he _ felt _. It wasn’t even a slow process, it was quick and jarring almost sending him into a meltdown.

Dick and him had been watching a movie, and he couldn’t remember the name of it but he could remember curling in on himself and feeling something wet slide down his face. Wiping them away he paused and shivered, ** _Why did he feel so bad about what was happening in the movie?_ ** It left him with this sickening feeling of being _ empty _ and he decided he did not like that feeling at all, it _ needed _ to be filled but it was so raw and hurt he didn’t want to touch it.

His brother had pulled him into his side and Damians tears soaked his side easily and Damian just shut down feeling something he couldn’t explain and he slept next to Dick without a second thought.

-

Waking up he felt a lot better then he had the night before but he wasn’t on the couch with his brother he was in his own room with the sun lighting up the flooring next to his bed looking to be at least pass ten in the morning, way later than he would normally allow himself to awaken.

Sitting up he rubbed his eyes, feeling them becoming wet again due to irritation and dust he assumed. Sluggishly he rolled out of bed with far too much stiffness within his body. Jolting his body into gear he peeled himself out of the clothing he’d slept last night and redressed in the black turtleneck he found was extremely comforting.

Walking down towards the kitchen and dining room he found no one in the house, huffing and turning around he made his way down to the cave, finding the large screen playing a news report from the night before.

_ “...Due to last night’s attack we advise any and all android owners to turn any androids that seem to be acting out of turn to the authorities. They due not know the cause of this _ malfunction _ as of just yet but they say there will be more to the story. Stay tuned for more on this story.” _

Damian saw his father's face before looking at anyone else's face, it was passive and stoney for anyone that didn’t know him but he could see the underlying thoughts of him deciding how bad the _ threat _was, making at least one of his steps slightly louder to notify the family of his arrival, he crossed his arms and looked at the screen coming to a stop several feet behind his father’s chair.

“There was an attack last night?”

Tim who’d not looked up from his laptop that he was leaning over spoke about it first.

“In Detroit, Michigan, there was a large scale Android robbery last night and witnesses say it was a bunch of Androids that did the robbing, which in itself seems impossible but the cops on scene said they spoke freely like you would see a human do.”

He hummed most likely finding this _ incident _ interesting while Damian found it breathtaking. _ Androids acting freely on their possible own. _ Damian thought he might not be so alone in this world on a mental standpoint. _ There might be more than the ones in this ‘attack’ somewhere. _

“It’s worrisome. If someone is coordinating all of these androids we need to put a stop to it sooner than later.”

Damian’s breath stopped before he forced himself to suck in more air.

“What if _ they are actually alive _ through? Freely thinking and deciding what they want instead of being essentially slaves to humans?”

Everyone span around to look at the thirteen year old with some sort of shock or questioning to his out of character question. Damian could feel his skin become colder like he was sweating but he knew for a fact he couldn’t do that so he showed indifference to the stares.

“Wow I never thought Demon brat would care about anything but himself.”

It was Jason who chimes in laughing a bit and not making Damian feel any better about the situation.

“It’s a simple question, _ Todd _ , is they are in fact gaining some semblance of _ humanity _ then we should try to help them not shut them off. That’d be killing them.”

Damian ground his teeth together as his father’s face showed slight _ disappointment _and it threw Damian off and before he could stop himself Damian snapped, locking eyes with his silent father.

“For a man who preaches _ no killing _ you seem to be making an exception for what you see as a _ machine _.”

Hissing at his father surprised all three of his brother and his Father even looked shocked.

“Why does this bother you so much, Damian?”

Cold. Impassive. ** _Batman._ **

And it drove Damian up a wall when he did it.

“No. No you don’t get to interrogate me for saying there’s _ a possibility they might actually have emotions free of what their told or do an action without being told.” _

Damian’s fists tightened and he could feel that spike of anger Ghost over his whole body before it stopped right in his abdomen and ** _boiled_ **.

“_ Damian _, these things are not alive they’re merely programmed AI’s that are mimicking human tendencies.”

His father's voice and words made that anger turn into _ ice _ . Green eyes burning with _ defiance _ and the words _ You’re wrong! _ That went unsaid. ‘They don’t know remember?’ Said a tiny voice in the back of his head and it felt like he was bathed in ice but warm all over and he couldn’t identify what it was. Closing his eyes and fists curling by his sides he paused and opened them locking his eyes with his father.

“_ I’m going to prove it, Damnit.” _

He could feel his own voice as ice that cut his throat and the burning of ‘Why doesn’t he give _ them _a chance?’ Were all he could feel and he went back upstairs but not before glancing back to see and hear a muffled Dick arguing with his father.

‘Maybe he understands.’

-

The air in Detroit was a lot cleaner than that of the air in Gotham. He felt light as a feather as he crossed the rooftops in the sunlight trying to get a feel for the area before he began his search for this _ group _.

His family hadn’t followed him and he guessed Dick had something to do with that or that they were just going to let him come back on his own with his ‘_ proof’ _. 

Moving his hood over his face to shield it from the sun while he took out the tablet and let it click on showing the police report from before about the android robberies in the area.

They’d driven a truck into the store and every android had walked out of their own free will. The cameras had been down but Damian had a good idea of what had happened in the area, the stolen truck from the nearby construction site and then there were all the signs in the park out front.

Cars pushed into the street, a symbol tech-etched onto signs, benches, and the nearby statue, but looking upon the statue he saw the band and the piece on the temple. But the thing that caught his attention was the flag with the symbol still shining in the daylight two days after the robbery.

  
  
  


Was that _ their _ symbol? Damian’s breath was taken aback as he burned the image into his brain. His heartbeat beat and he closed his eyes, feeling the sun on his hood and cape.

“Now time for the detective work.”

He mumbled and dove off the rooftop and anyone who was around didn’t even notice minus a single pair of eyes and a teal-blue light.

-

Night had fallen slowly but by then Damian had found a strange square on a wall that particularly stuck out to him in a train station.

Spying it from afar wasn’t hard but after that he found a trail of them leading through the streets, some at weird angles and drawn across multiple items inside buildings or just on walls.

It was only when he came across the ship did he think to stop and scout ahead. _ Why did they all stop around this ship? _He narrowed his eyes and tried to quell the excitement or the thought of ‘they actually devised their own code to get to a meeting place.’

Getting inside the ship was easy and Damian had no trouble staying quiet as he traversed the floors of the ship named ‘Jericho’ before hearing voices.

Sprinting up into the nearest open door but not before checking if it was empty he listened for which direction the voices came from.

“They won’t listen if we don’t fight!”

The voice was female but there was distinctly heavier footsteps that covered hers.

“They would only see us as a threat if we attacked them, North! It’s not worth it, we _ can _ show them if we’re peaceful, not bloodthirsty _ robots _!”

The footsteps stopped and Damian’s heart stopped at those words. This one, this android wanted peace, Damian felt proud for no reason at all other then what sounded like someone in a leader position wanting a path to _ true peace _ not an all out war.

Checking to make sure his mask was recording before slinking across the floor and peering around the corner to see two androids staring one another down. The female looked angry and the male looked like he was done with the conversation.

“_Markus_ _please_.”

She pleaded while the other shook his head.

“I’ve made my decision and this is how it _ will _ play out….. North there will be casualties either way there is _ no way _ to avoid that but we can get the public to sympathise with us if we show them we mean them no harm.”

Damian’s eyes locked with the males for a second and he looked surprised and let out a small gasp before calling out to him.

“Hey little boy!”

Damian cussed under his breath and turned back around the corner dipping into another empty room and hunkering down with his cape drawn over him to help him blend with the shadows in the room.

Rapid footsteps crossed pass the door and Damian slid out from the room and bolted around the corner unseen by the two who were looking farther down the hallway. Looking over his shoulder multiple times to make sure he lost them before scanning the lower rooms with his eyes through a hole in the metal floor before slowly descending into the lower floor and onto a metal catwalk he listened once again before hearing a lot of moving around farther to his left. Moving in that direction he moved up onto a metal support towards the ceiling, after checking if it was stable or not.

Seeing a big enough opening in the metal wall for him to crawl through he only stopped to peer inside to see Androids moving about talking and chatting, working on and watching different things. His breath escaped his mouth as he saw the two from earlier enter into the room asking a few people around them questions.

Damian knew they were asking about him, after being unable to find him. He suspected they might think of him as a kid who was lost or dared to go into the ship, as they looked concerned.

“...._ in other news the Justice League has decided they will figure out a proper cause of action to deal with the malfunctioning androids without causing civilian harm, and says they will do their best to stop the situation.” _

The androids inside started angry shouts as members of the league started speaking.

“They think of us less than animals! We’re ‘just a problem’!”

Damian had to say the newscast reporter could have done better on the wording but he supposed most of them just thought of androids as property and didn’t know better, he also guessed they just wanted money from their jobs and not a ‘Goodbye’.

“Everyone! Everyone! Please! Cease this!”

Markus’ voice was drowned out by the angry chants of the room.

Damian slipped into the room staying up high and out of sight as his _ uniform _ would probably cause a misunderstanding as he was considered an ally of the JLA. Crouching on the metal he continued watching, moving with the noise as to not give away his position.

“We can’t just start an all out violent war with the humans! It will _ cost us more than we can afford.” _

The chanting quieted down and people looked to Markus as if asking him to explain, and he shut his eyes which looked like two different colors at this distance but Damian wasn’t sure.

“If we start a violent war we’ll _ all die _ and then who will be here to teach the humans we’re _ more than just machines _?”

Mummers went around the floor and Damian could tell this Markus was extremely new to public speaking but he could easily handle it when he tried, the costumed boy couldn’t even feel himself nodding along until he stopped just as everyone or just about everyone was agreeing to his words, shuffling so he was sitting on the metal instead of crouching he watched as everyone came to an agreement slowly but surely.

Amazed at how _ this _ was how they solved issues, _ everyone needed to agree _ . Damian felt a pull at his own heart like he’d missed the chance to be _ apart of something _ but it was squashed by the thought of _ you are not one of them _, that silenced his thoughts.

People cleared out of the main part of the room and went back to their own thing after the decision was made but Markus just sat uptop for a minute smiling and looking down at everyone with a fondness Damian saw his father give on occasion, feeling a pang of jealousy he wasn’t even sure should be there he watched a few new faces and an old face whisper into Markus's ear and pull him away from the room.

Putting his legs back under his body he moved along the metal and followed them out of the room with less caution than he probably should have as he almost got caught going through a hole in the ceiling getting out of the room.

Cursing inside his head he became overly paranoid as he tried to find where the group of four went, keeping his ears open and his eyes never staying in one area for more than a second, eventually he hear voices coming from farther upstairs. Seeing no other quick way up he climbed outside of the ship and slowly found his grip before scaling the side and coming across what looked like the ship’s helm with people inside of it.

Hoisting himself up and over the railing wasn’t hard, but it did make a loud shriek as his weight caused it to shift, feet landing on the other side he glanced up to make eye contact with Markus himself who peered through the dirty glass, and looked surprised to see him up this far.

Only sparing a glance downward to check if he could have seen his Robin uniform, Damian deemed he hadn’t as his hood and cape covered everything but his gloves and chin at the moment, the rusted door shifted as two male androids peered out at him with caution and the female appeared next to Markus all but glaring at him as his eye behind the mask looked at her.

Straightening up and the cap falling over his gloves but left his boots visible in the low light, the green color like a stoplight seemed to cause them to all start filing out of the helm to him. Damian tried to straighten farther to make himself seem taller than his current 5’5 status, he’d grown a bit, but he was still only a child and not fully grown as of yet but at least he wasn’t as short as when he started out.

Markus stepped down the stairs and Damian felt something in him shake, the man's walk was the opposite of most he’d seen, no aggression _ at all _ like he was walking up to a friend or someone he knew.

“Mind if I ask who you are, even if I have a pretty good idea.”

Shifting on his feet only slightly decided right then and there just how much he was going to reveal. Moving his cape back and crossing his arms almost framing the ‘_ R _’ he loved so dearly but he would never say it out loud to anyone other than the one who started it all.

The three androids behind Markus had varying degrees of surprise before the one Damian knew as ‘North’ crossed her own arms and glared before speaking in an aggressive tone.

“Just what are _ you doing here _”

Damian hummed in a sort of amusement. She was acting exactly like he thought she would, but Damian wouldn't be moved from someone he clearly had the advantage over.

"I'm just merely making my own opinion on the group who robbed a store last night. So far I'm not impressed."

That's a lie, Markus had gotten Damians attention and support from the first speech.

Speaking of Markus he just looked at Damian like he wasn't sure what was about to happen and Damian couldn't blame him for thinking before acting, especially against one of the vigilantes known in the world. Before Damian could even speak, Markus smiled and Damian knew he hadn't hidden his emotions well enough.

"You believe us don't you?"

All Damian could do was give a stiff nod.

"I know what it's like to not be accepted and I wish to help in any way I can."

Norths face twisted up when Damian said he knew what they went through.

"What could _ you possibly know?" _

Damian unfolded his arms and slide a glove off, the barely shining white appeared as his skin shimmered and faded away a bit.

"More than you think, however _ Batman _ knows nothing of _ me _ only that I am _ his _, but not by blood." 

Sliding the glove back on and crossing my arms again Damian closed his eyes and spoke again.

"Now then, how can I help?"

Everyone grinned, with _ the _Robin on their side, it would go better than planned.

**Author's Note:**

> If yall want I could make some oneshots based on this but dont hold your breath.


End file.
